Brookgreen Critters

One thing I always enjoy about Brookgreen Gardens is the variety of insect, reptile, and amphibian wildlife I see there. Because it is on the water there are always a lot of different dragonflies darting about. We saw a little tree frog as well as two different types of lizard (a Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis and a Southeastern Five-lined Skink, Eumceces inexpectatus). There are huge Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers, Romalea microptera.

Pictured here, though, are two of the dragonflies and a hummingbird. I can identify the bird as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) because that is the only hummingbird found on the east coast. This one was darting around the white blooms of this Cleome-like flower (I’m not actually sure what it is) near The Fountain of the Muses (by Carl Milles). I managed to get a few photographs before it darted off.

As for the dragonflies, Albert and Brady are the experts so consider my identification tentative until they confirm or correct what I’ve said. I think the first, which looks to me like it is wearing a flight helmet, is a Red-tailed Pennant (Brachymesia furcata). The second, perched on basil leaves, looks like an Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis). This picture makes me happy for all the green in it, as well as its symmetry.